This proposal seeks partial support for the 8th Gordon Research Conference on Salivary Glands and Exocrine Biology to be held February 6-11th, 2011 at the Hotel Galvez, Galveston, Texas. This meeting is highly significant as it is the preeminent multi-disciplinary conference in the salivary gland and exocrine biology fields, and brings together established investigators, both basic and translational, with promising junior scientists and experts from associated fields. The overall goal of this conference is to bring these investigators together to present their latest unpublished research, and engage in intensive, yet informal, discussions at the frontier of the field in an "off-the-record" fashion. A secondary goal is to facilitate salivary researchers to form collaborations with investigators in complementary fields, including basic, translational and clinical researchers. The first Specific Aim is to promote discussion and prioritization of the important future research directions relevant to understanding the development, physiology, and pathophysiology of salivary glands and other exocrine glands (e.g. lacrimal and pancreas) and their secretions, including state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic advances. A particular feature of the program will be a broadening of focus to include tumor biology, advances in stem/progenitor and iPS cells, salivary diagnostics, glycobiology, and systems biology. A second Specific Aim is to provide a venue for junior Investigators at the Graduate Student, Postdoctoral, and Junior Faculty levels to discuss their current research, and forge scientific interactions including collaborations. This is essential for them to build networks with their peers that may lead to a lifetime of collaboration and scientific achievement, and will stimulate the retention of the most talented junior investigators in the field. The program will be comprised of nine plenary sessions, and include two keynote addresses featuring investigators of international stature, and two poster sessions. The meeting has three major themes, with sessions relating to 1) Molecular mechanisms of development and function, 2) Exocrineopathies, tumors, and genetics of disease, 3) Diagnostics and therapeutics. The long-term goal of this meeting is to incorporate what we learn about development, physiology, and disease, to design treatments for loss of either salivary tissue or glandular function. Saliva plays a critical role in the maintenance of oral health and an irreversible loss of salivary gland function occurs after removal of salivary tumors, after therapeutic radiation of head and neck tumors, as a result of Sjogren's syndrome, and in certain rare genetic syndromes affecting gland development. The loss of salivary function reduces oral health increases oral infections, dental caries, and periodontal disease and significantly decreases quality of life. The outcomes of this conference are directly relevant to NIDCR's mission, "to improve the oral health of the nation". The meeting will improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in exocrine gland development, physiology, and pathophysiology providing a rationale for repair, regeneration, or reengineering approaches to restore secretory function. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE (provided by the applicant): This conference is highly health related in that it will promote discussion and prioritization of the important future research directions pertinent to understanding the pathophysiology of exocrine glands and their secretions. There will be a focus on the molecular mechanism underlying human disease that result in exocrine gland dysfunction, such as Sjogrens syndrome, dry eye, and pancreatitis and tissue damage resulting from irradiation, and strategies to prevent damage and/or regenerate the gland. The meeting will also focus on the use of salivary secretions as a diagnostic tool for human diseases such as cancer and auto immune diseases.